His Realization
by StickyKeys
Summary: He's always seen her as a vessel, nothing more. She's always been aware. However, when a visit from the past arrives unexpectedly, feelings could get twisted around. Takes place TYL.
1. Chapter 1: The Ghosts of Our Past

My first fanfic on here! O: After reading so many, I decided to give it a shot and submit a story of my own~ : D

I wanted this to be a oneshot, but seeing as how the whole thing took up about 4 pages on Word, it'll probably take 2... Maybe 3 chapters to finish.. x_x So I'll update daily until it's all done!

The pairings are MukuroxChrome (6996) and slight OCxChrome... Yeah..

_Italics-_ flashback

_'Text'_-Thought

"Text"- Speech

Hopefully that's easy enough.. Px

**!Disclaimer!** I do not own KHR or the characters used in this fic that came from the anime/manga!

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Ghosts of our Past...**

The sun beat down on the pavement of the city causing much heat; it was yet another irritation added onto Mukuro's day. Impatience stirred in the man as he began to quicken his pace and rant aloud, "Tch. Dang Vongola can't take care of his own crap. It took me nearly 3 hours to find the guy with the files."

Mukuro halted his steps, giving the folders in his hand a once over before turning towards his purple haired companion and speaking, "Oya, Chrome. You're lagging behind.."

Unfortunately for him, it seemed that the young woman he had addressed seemed too preoccupied with her own thoughts at the moment to be paying any attention as she remained drifting on the side walk, face staring blankly at the concrete.

_'Odd…' _Mukuro thought to himself.

Meeting Chrome half way, the male illusionist called out Chrome's name. The young woman's face snapped up immediately having finally heard him. A blush lightly dusted her face in embarrassment as she stammered, "O-Oh! Sorry Mukuro sama! Did.. Did you say something?"

"Nagi.. Are you alright?" Chrome flinched at the use of her real name.

"I.. Ah.. I'm fine."

If only she herself could believe those words. The whole day Chrome had felt nothing short of crappy. Last night didn't leave her with much rest as the event that took place left her completely dejected.

The memory still swam fresh in her head as she recounted it…

Flashback

"_Mukuro sama! Ken! Chickusa! Dinner's ready!" Chrome called out from the kitchen. Mukuro was the first to show his face as he raced down the stairs. Although the man looked as though he was rushing for some unknown reason. _

'_That's strange…' Chrome thought, 'I don't think he has anything planned for tonight…' The female mist guardian observed the man as he hurriedly made his way to the front door. Before grabbing the knob, Mukuro turned to Chrome and informed her, "Chrome, leave my dinner in the fridge. I'll just heat it up later for leftovers."_

"_Are you sure, Mukuro sama? It's your favorite.." Mukuro nodded indifferently as he opened the front door to reveal a slender yet well formed woman with bright blonde hair and striking blue eyes. The woman looked as though she was ready to go out for a night around the town as she dawned a skimpy red dress and a pair of pumps to match. _

"_Mukuro~" She giggled. _

_Chrome scrunched her brows in confusion before speaking up, "Who-"_

"_Who is this?" The woman beat her to the question as she turned and gave the poor purple haired guardian the stink eye. Chrome flinched in response. _

"_Huh?" Mukuro glanced at Chrome briefly and then turned to face the blonde broad standing before him, "Kufufu, just ignore her, my dear. She's just a maid."_

_Satisfied with his response, the woman smiled smugly and replied, "Well then! Shall we get going?"_

_Mukuro smiled and nodded in confirmation as he made his way out,_

_The blonde followed behind, only stopping for a split second to address Chrome before finally leaving, "By the way, honey, you missed a smudge on that coffee table." _

_As the front door shut in front of her, Chrome was left completely stunned. Mukuro's words echoed in her mind as she stared blankly into space... _

"… Nagi?" Chrome was instantly brought back to the current situation when she heard Mukuro call her yet again. "Ah yes?" She answered quickly. He studied her face for a few seconds, scrunching his eyebrows together before asking, "Are you sure you're fine?"

"Y-Yes, Mukuro sama! I'm perfectly fine!" Chrome answered then started jogging foreword to prove her statement, though failing to look at the road ahead of her. "S-See?"

"Nagi! Look out!"

It was too late. Before Chrome could turn her head to see the danger, she collided with a bystander walking the opposite direction she was.

"Whoa!" The man exclaimed before catching the young woman in his arms.

Chrome blushed profusely, "I'm so sorry!" Separating herself from the man, she bowed her head deeply.

The man only chucked in response before replying, "Naw it's perfectly fine! I should have…" Though his words died out for some unknown reason. Confused, Chrome lifted her head to see what was the matter. Finally catching sight of the man's face, Chrome began to study him.

He was tall and held a slim face mussed with choppy and short dark brown hair. It was weird. Something about this man seemed so familiar, But try as she might, the young woman just couldn't place it. The brunet seemed to also be observing her as his chocolate brown eyes scrunched in contemplation.

After a few seconds of silence, the man spoke first, his facial expression going from a concentrated gaze to one of complete shock, "N-NAGI?!"

Chrome's eye widened, "How.. How do you know my name?!"

"You don't remember?!" The man placed both hands on his head in disbelief.

Chrome could only shake her head in response.

Placing his arms at his hips, the man stared up at the sky and sighed, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's been- what, 11 years now?" Looking back at the confused woman in front of him, he continued, "Nagi it's me! Koichi! I used to go to middle school with you!"

As if it couldn't get any bigger, Chrome's eye widened even more as her lips parted, finally remembering the man standing before her, although the memory was still quite faint.

"Who is this?" Having finally caught up with Chrome, Mukuro was quick to take note of the man talking to her. While jogging to catch up to the young woman, he couldn't help but overhear the last bit of the conversation. The illusionist was absolutely dumbfounded.

Just who was this guy and why had he not heard of him before?

"Nagi I thought you used to have no friends?" Before Chrome could answer, the brunet standing becide her decided to speak up, "Actually we were more so acquaintances back then.." Koichi looked back at Chrome once more before continuing, "But jeez, Nagi.. You've changed so much since then. Your hair's shorter and your eye…" Absentmindedly, the brunet raised his hand, reaching for Chrome before abruptly stopping at the sudden feeling of a killing intent. Looking towards the source, Koichi caught sight of a rather peeved Mukuro. Quickly, the man retracted his hand and coughed nervously. "Still… I thought you died from a car crash.. Everyone around school was talking about it.."

"I almost did.. But-"

"But she was saved. Nagi, I really don't think we should keep the boss waiting." Mukuro almost cringed at the fact that he was addressing the Vongola brat as his boss, however he was getting more and more irritated at the conversation taking place. Only a few minutes had passed and already he couldn't stand this guy.

"Oh right!" Chrome turned to look at her old schoolmate and smiled timidly, "Well.. It was nice seeing you again."

"Ah! W-Wait!" Koichi stammered and grabbed onto Chrome's arm just before the woman could walk off. Such action only irritated the male illusionist more as he clenched his teeth trying dearly not to snap and kill this guy in the process.

"Ah… Nagi, I was just wondering if… If you'd like to go out to a restaurant, sometime… Like maybe tonight?" Flustered by his preposition, Koichi quickly added, "Y-You know! Just to catch up and stuff!"

"... That sounds like fu-"

"That won't be possible."

"Mu-Mukuro sama?" Chrome was taken aback at Mukuro's sudden interruption. However Mukuro ignored it and just shook his head back and forth before continuing, "Definitely not possible. Tsunayoshi might need us to do something else for him. You know how busy he gets around this time of year."

Chrome frowned, "Oh.. Right…"

"Oh! Well th-that's okay! Here!" Koichi pulled out a pen and some paper before scribbling a number down and then handing it to Chrome. "You can just call me, when you have time!"

Mukuro gritted his teeth even more, trying to keep a smile on his face. '_Persistent little-'_

"Okay!"

_'What?'_

Chrome's smile reappeared and she placed the piece of paper in her pocket. "I'll be sure to call!"

_'WHAT?!'_

"Th-That'd be great!" Koichi exclaimed and smiled widely at Chrome as she returned the gesture. After a moment of silence, Mukuro finally interrupted the smiling couple, feeling neglected and still quite furious. "Nagi. Can we go, already?" Mukuro asked exasperatingly as he grabbed Chrome's wrist.

Though slightly confused by Mukuro's sudden action, Chrome nodded and said, "Ah.. Yes!" before waving goodbye to Koichi whilst being dragged away.

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**EDIT (10/29/12): **So there you have it! Here's the edit to the first chapter of "His Realization".

Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2: Suddenly

**EDIT (10/29/12): **Out of the two chapters, I think this chapter got the most changes. The whole beginning was pretty much scrapped to make way for... Well.. Something I thought would work better. xD

**Disclaimer: **Ya'll should be lucky that I'm not the creator of KHR. The only thing I own is Koichi and this story.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Suddenly**

Why she decided to accept a number from someone she had only just recently met after 11 years, Chrome couldn't fully understand herself. Something inside her just urged her to take the slip of paper.

Perhaps it was due to the state she was in at the time. After having been completely cast off by Mukuro the night prior, Chrome couldn't help but feel alone. Finding out that someone remembered her even from her days as Nagi filled her up with joy and seemed to alleviate her of the cloud that had hung over her head the whole day.

It made her feel special. Something that she hadn't felt in quite a long time.

The feeling was positively invigorating and she just didn't want to let go of it. So after she and Mukuro arrived home, she made it a priority to call the guy up.

Much to her relief, he'd picked up and was actually happy to hear her voice. Koichi immediately brought up the question of when he'd see her again and requested that they meet at a café nearby sometime. Chrome accepted happily and informed him that she could do it around 4pm which was usually the time she'd head for home if she didn't have any big missions assigned to her.

When she finally did meet him at the café, Koichi didn't hesitate with filling her in on what happened following her absence. He spoke of this and that- how school life was, the events that took place, and anything else that came up in his mind.

Listening to all his stories was quite refreshing. It gave her more incite to the life she left behind and made her wonder what her life would be like if she hadn't nearly died and got taken in by Mukuro.

Mukuro… At the mere thought of his name, Chrome couldn't help but frown.

She'd known better than anyone else that the man saw her as a vessel more than anything else. A soldier that was meant for nothing more than to stand by her master's side and fight when the situation called for it. However, the poor female illusionist couldn't help but hope for it to become something more than just that.

She cherished the man- absolutely adored him from the day that he saved her.

Why wouldn't she?

He was, after all, the one who kept her alive and gave her a purpose to live. He was her savior and each day she'd wake up feeling thankful for the life he'd given her as Chrome Dokuro.

Over the years Chrome had still held onto the sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe she'd become a possible love interest to the male illusionist, however she always kept in mind the fact that the possibilities of that ever occurring were slim.

What she didn't count on, however, was how much it would hurt to one day find out that this relationship she held with Mukuro truly was nothing more than what it was always meant to be. To know that Mukuro really didn't feel anything towards her.

Chrome clutched her chest. The feeling was still there. The pain. Though it did dull over time, recalling Mukuro's words from that night still caused her heart to wrench violently in despair.

Those words… The memory of them was still clear in her mind.

She thought a week would be enough to forget. Apparently not.

Sighing to herself, she glanced at the phone at her desk thoughtfully as the phone began to vibrate.

**-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X****-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**-

Over past week, Mukuro became aware of Chrome's sudden change in routine. At first, he decided to shake it off. However as the days progressed, it became more prevalent that something was going on. The female mist guardian always took it upon herself to be punctual with just about anything. However lately she'd been arriving home much later than usual. It wasn't as if she had been assigned anything big, either. These days, Tsuna seemed to be going easy on the girl with things like assignments and missions.  
Yes.. Something was clearly going on. And the male illusionist didn't like it one bit...

The door clicked open as Chrome walked into the house, dropping her purse down on a nearby coffee table.

"You were out rather late…" Mukuro observed, crossing his arms as he stared the petit woman down.

"I ah… Had a lot of work to do…" It was a terrible lie and they both knew it. Mukuro's eyes narrowed as he switched subjects, "Because of your absence, we don't have any dinner."

Chrome gnawed on her bottom lip. "I-I'm sorry, Mukuro sama.. I can't do it tonight..."

Raising an brow, Mukuro observed the fidgeting girl in front of him before asking, "Oya, Why not?"

"I-" Before the girl could finish her statement, her cellphone buzzed, suddenly catching her attention. Flipping her phone open, Chrome's eye widened in recognition at whatever was on the screen. "I'm so sorry Mukuro sama!"

"Huh?"

Before Mukuro could ask anymore questions, the petite mist guardian was already making a beeline up to her room in  
a hurry.

"Nagi?!" Mukuro called out in hopes of hearing a response. After waiting for a few seconds and getting no feedback, Mukuro decided to shrug it off, determined to catch the woman later and ask her about whatever it is that's going on.

Later on that night Ken and Chickusa decided to congregate from their rooms to the kitchen in hopes of being met with Chrome's homemade food. So to say that Ken was disappointed when they found that that's not going to be the case was an understatement.

"Gaaahhhh! Where's that stupid girl! I need food!" Ken practically screamed to the heavens as he slumped in his chair.

"Ken. You're being annoying..." Chickusa held his temples in irritation as Ken decided to continue his ranting.

"Can I help it that I'm sitting here starving while that idiot girl is off doing God knows what?!"

"If you're so impatient just sitting here, why don't you go occupy yourself while waiting by taking a bath. You're well overdue for one anyway..."

That did it. Ken slammed his hands down on the table ferociously before yelling out, "What did you say, four-eyed kappa?!"

"Ken. Calm down." The sound of Mukuro's voice was enough to startle the blonde out of his frenzy as he immediately planted himself back on his seat. Without turning to face the two, Mukuro informed his two companions, "Chrome's not going to be cooking for us tonight.."

This shocked Ken, "What?! But why?!"

Before he could get a decent explanation, a door upstairs was slammed and heavy footfalls sounded throughout the house. Peeking all of their heads out from the kitchen archway, the three men found Chrome rushing downstairs.

Catching a better glimpse of the girl as she made her way down the last steps, Mukuro's eyes widened while Ken outright gawked, jaw nearly meeting the floor.

Right in front of the three men stood the petite female mist guardian in a light that they had never seen her in before. Her normal ensemble that consisted of a simple purple tank, indigo skirt and violet cropped jacket was replaced with a stunning dark purple dress and glossy black high heels accompanied by glimmering black pearl earrings to match. What's more, Chrome's hair, usually straight, was now curled and bouncing lightly as it shined in the light.

Checking through her purse, the young woman pulled out a few twenties before walking up to Mukuro and placing it in the stunned man's palm.

"H-Here... I apologize for the suddenness of all this, but you can use this money to order take out."

Breaking out of his stupor, Mukuro reached his free hand out to stop the young woman before she could exit the building. "O-Oya, Chrome," Mukuro stammered before clearing his throat and attempting to speak once more, "You never told me why you're in such a rush tonight.."

Having realized her oversight, Chrome's eye widened as she apologized once more, "I almost forgot... I'm supposed to be going out to a restaurant tonight.."

This caught the male illusionist off guard. The girl almost never left the house save for work.

Mukuro chuckled nervously before asking, "With who, may I ask?"

"Koichi."

His eye suddenly began to twitch violently. Him again! Putting two and two together, Mukuro suddenly found out the reason for the girl's strange actions lately and continued his questioning while attempting to keep his composure, "Is he... The reason why you've been coming home later all this time?"

Chrome bit her lip nervously as she answered, "He.. He wanted to do some catching up with me..."

That eye twitch was not going to cease anytime soon. At this point Mukuro was finding it extremely difficult not to go ballistic in front of this girl.

Realizing the time, Chrome quickly waltzed to the front door before announcing "I.. I better get going, Koichi's already waiting outside!"

"W-Wait, Nagi!" Before she could hear him, Chrome had already left, the door closed lightly.

Still gawking, Ken took one big gulp before speaking, "Sh-She's... She's ho-"

But before he could finish, the blonde was already being pelted with pineapples. A strong indigo aura emitted from the assaulter.

Chickusa, having gotten the hint, looked at Ken and told him, "Ken. Shut up."

Mukuro turned to Chickusa and handed him the bills. "Chickusa."

"Yes, Mukuro sama."

"I'm going out. Order take out and make sure Ken doesn't turn this place upside down."

Chickusa nodded in recognition and with that, the illusionist raced outside, swiftly grabbing his jacket in the process.

"Uwaaa… What was all that about? Kakipi! Where's dinner?!" Chickusa sighed and stated, "Ken… You're annoying me…" He then turned to face the door. _'What on Earth is going on?'_

* * *

There you have it! Chapter 3 will have the revision of Chrome's little outing. See you all next update!


	3. AN of Doom!

IT'S BEEN A WHILE.

So before I get to anything else, I'd just like so mention first that **to anyone who's read this story before, **

**it's HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you go back and reread the last two chapters!**

Why?

Well here's the deal: I didn't exactly count on abandoning this fic way back when. I mean, the thing was only supposed to be what? 3 chapters? 4 at most?

A few months ago I got a notification on my email that this story got a review and, going back to look, I was really surprised that this fic ended up getting some pretty good feedback!

I felt really ashamed for having left this thing without any conclusion since then and decided to once again work on this story. However when I went back to read the thing, I realized that the writing was absolutely DEPLORABLE. DX Eugh.

While I can't say that I've improved so much over the years on terms of writing, I figured the least I could do was edit this thing to make it less rushed. In doing so I've also managed change some things around and break apart chapter 2 into two parts. The second part (Chapter 3) is being typed as we speak and should be posted soon.

as for how many chapters this fic will be? I'm not so sure after the changes. However I do know it will only go for a few chapters.

For those of you who read this whole thing, I thank you!

And for those of you who have Favorited/reviewed this piece, I apologize greatly for the absence! .;;

I'll try my best to wrap up this story!

~Stickykeys


	4. Chapter 3: Tension

Chapter 3 is finally here, guys! xD A big thanks to those who reviewed after my update! :') I'm glad people still show interest in this story even after the long wait xD

Also a little word of warning, this chapter may contain OOC behavior with regards to Chrome and Mukuro (This will be more prevalent towards the end of the chapter). I apologize in advance for that.

**Disclaimer:** I think at this point I don't really need to say it..

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**Chapter 3: Tension**

After having exited the house, Mukuro went straight for his vehicle, hoping to trail behind Chrome and the man to whom currently held the record for "The most hated living being" in his book.

The drive was nothing short from stressful for the man. The whole time, he practically held his steering wheel in a death grip. It was strange, the way he was acting. Never in his life had Mukuro anticipated such a thing to happen. Sure Chrome had some men approach her over time, but she never seemed to show any interest and rejected them as politely as she could.

What made this man so different? Just because he may have been one of her old schoolmates? Mukuro mentally scoffed. Why the hell did he even care, anyway? He was just some guy…

Right?

It's not like she really was involved with him.

…Right?!

Finally the restaurant came into view after following two cars behind Koichi's for a few blocks. Mukuro sucked in air at the sight of the building. It was beyond fancy. No guy would take a girl to a place this extravagant if he'd only hoped to just be friends with her.

After watching the two walk through the entrance, a new problem occurred to the male illusionist. He had no means of getting in. Still, he wouldn't be deterred. He had his mind set, and he was resolute to follow through.

Mukuro looked around the entrance of the restaurant, hoping to find an answer when he caught sight of a waiter walking lazily out from the side of the building.

He smirked deviously. This was going to be much easier than he thought…

Standing near some trash bins behind the restaurant, the waiter took another drag of his cig before briefly discarding the item on the ground and stomping on it.

Out of nowhere, mist began to shroud his surroundings. The man inwardly panicked as he looked around hastily.

"Kufufu," A voice sounded from the haze. The waiter jumped in response before yelling out "WH-WHO'S THERE?!"

The silence that followed only alarmed the man more.

In a vain attempt to ward off the unknown being, he reached for the closest object he could grab- A broken off branch. He then proceeded to yell out, "I'M ARMED!" Before desperately swinging the makeshift sword like a madman.

An outline of what appeared to be a man approached him and spoke, unfazed by his little act, "Let's not be hasty. I have need of you…" The poor waiter could only do so much as nervously gulp before blacking out.

**-X-**

She gazed at the fancy decor surrounding their table, mouth ajar in pure fascination. Never had she remembered coming to a place so magnificent. It was just… Wow..

"Like what you see?" Koichi's voice broke Chrome out of her reverie as she turned to him and nodded in confirmation and added, "V-Very much so! How did you afford to get a reservation to a place like this?"

Koichi chuckled before answering, "My father actually owns this place. I can pretty much get a reservation when I want."

"Really?" Chrome gasped in surprised.

Koichi nodded.

"My I take your orders?" A black haired waiter approached the two's table, a warm smile plastered on his face. Chrome's eye widened slightly as she caught sight of it. _'His smile… It's almost similar to Mukuro sama's…' _Something about this waiter was off. She could sense something but was at a loss for what it was.

Koichi spoke first. "Right then, I'll have some spaghetti with extra oregano and red whine."

The waiter nodded and briefly jotted the order down on his pad. He then turned to face Chrome, his smile growing wider as he asked, "And for the gorgeous young lady~?"

Before Chrome could answer, her date broke in, "A little too flirtatious, are we?" Koichi smiled venomously at the waiter, "Might want to tone it down a little."

The waiter only returned the smile as he challenged, "Oh? Says who?"

"Says the son of the owner," Koichi deadpanned.

The attendant's eye twitched, his smile turned to a frown, "Right…" He turned back to face the purple haired woman, "What would you like?"

"Ummm.. Just a salad and some more water, please." Koichi frowned as he looked over at the woman, "Nagi, don't you want to eat anything else? That's just an appetizer. Chrome shook her head and replied with a soft smile, "I'm fine. I'm not actually that hungry tonight."

"Right then~ Spaghetti with extra oregano, red whine, a salad, and water. I'll get your order right away," The waiter concluded before walking off.

After the man had left, Chrome began to fidget a little in her seat, "I must thank you for taking me to this place."

"Huh?! Oh no, no! it's My pleasure!" Koichi stammered. The female guardian shook her head, "Still, it must be quite expensive just bringing me here even if your father owns this place."

Koichi smiled at the woman. 'How cute' he noted mentally at her concern, "Trust me Nagi, it was nothing…"

The conversation died as the two sat in silence for a few moments. The brunet decided to speak again as he cleared his throat, "Actually… I've had something I've been wanting to tell you…"

Chrome looked back at him, confused at the man's sudden bashfulness. "I don't really know how to say this… But ah…" Koichi scratched the back of his head nervously before heaving a deep breath. Looking back at the girl with newfound determination, he announced, "Nagi. I like you. A lot."

Koichi observed the woman, a shocked expression now dawning her features. Looking down at the table top, he continued, "I've… Actually had a crush on you since our school days… When I heard that you died in a wreck, I was absolutely crushed… But here you are, years later, very much alive.. Nagi…" He reached for her hand across the table, holding it in his. "You don't know how grateful I am to see you again."

"I… I…" She could only stammer out a poor excuse for a response. The petit woman was absolutely speechless. Koichi continued, "I- I know this is sudden… Especially considering we've only just spent a week catching up but… I would like it if you became my girlfriend," Koichi turned to face the woman straight in the eye, "You don't have to answer me, right now but please think about it."

Not far off from the couple, a black haired waiter stood behind a wall, having heard everything that had been said in the conversation. A frown was present on his face as he dashed off to exit the building…

When he finally reached the outside of the building, mist began to shroud around him, once again and Mukuro instantly appeared before the man. "I no longer have use of you, you're free," The illusionist deadpanned. Before leaving, he also included, "You have 3 orders to fill."

The waiter blinked out in surprise before calling out, "Wha… What about my break?!"

**-X-**

An hour passed before Chrome finally arrived back home that night. Not wanting to wake up her roommates, she made sure to close the door quietly before dashing silently up the stairs.

Once she finally made it to her room, Chrome turned on the light. She felt a bit uneasy once alone in the room, it was as if there was another presence in there with her. The female illusionist's suspicions were soon confirmed as she turned around and nearly jumped a foot into the air.

Sitting up straight on her bed with a blank stare on his face was none other than the most feared illusionist she'd ever known. "MU-MUKURO SAMA!" She stammered, "What are you doing in here?!"

The man heaved a sigh before responding, "I see you had fun tonight…"

"I-" Before she could continue, Mukuro cut her off. Though his voice held a serene calmness to it, she noticed he held a dangerous glint in his eyes. "What is that man to you, Chrome?"

"What… What do you mean?" At that, the male shot up and snapped, "You very well know what I'm talking about!" His mask had finally broken as the man stared angrily at the woman in front of him, "You go out and meet him throughout the whole week and now accept his invitation to some restaurant?!"

"Mukuro sama wh-"

"So what? Are you planning on leaving us now that you have yourself a little boyfriend?!" Chrome's eye widened in realization. "So that _was_ you at the restaurant…"

The male illusionist swiftly walked up to his female companion, only stopping when he was a foot away from her. His voice was dangerously low, "I save your life and you just go off gallivanting with some random man like I'm nothing here?"

Chrome stared at the floor, her fists shaking as she once again recalled the dreaded event from a week ago. She couldn't take it anymore. Her voice quivered as she spoke quietly, "Why…"

"What?" Mukuro hissed.

Chrome snapped her head up to face the man. Mukuro flinched when when he saw the tears accumulating in the female mist guardian's eye. "Why is it that when you go off with random women at night and call me nothing but your personal maid, it's okay. But I can't even hang out with one guy without having you get in my case about it?"

At this point, Chrome was shaking violently. She knew her sudden remark was unusual, but she just couldn't help it. This just wasn't fair.

Mukuro's eyes widened, caught completely off guard at the comeback made from the smaller woman in front of him. Silence ensued as the two stood still.

After a few moments of continued quietness, Mukuro was the first to speak once more, his head lowered, "I see…" Chrome's eye widened at the sound of his voice. Almost instantly the woman was struck with a pang of guilt at what she said.

"M-Mukuro sama I'm sorry I-" Before she could continue, the male illusionist interjected.

"No... It's fine.." He walked to the door before stopping briefly to turn to Chrome, "Just... Get some sleep.." With that, the male illusionist left the room, closing the door in the process.

Once alone in the hall, Mukuro heaved a sigh, eyes staring down at the floor.

This was bad. He'd never lost his composure like this before. It was then that the man realized another thing.

This was their first fight...

Never had he seen Chrome act the way she did just now. The way she spoke against him.. It was odd. Especially considering Chrome had never done that to anyone before, much less himself.

At that moment, the image of the petit female guardian on the brim of tears flashed in his head. The very reminder of it was enough to make the man's heart wrench. Mukuro reached to clutch his chest, alarmed at the foreign feeling.

'_What on Earth is this?' _

He remained still for a few moments trying to make sense of the sudden surge of emotions before finally shaking his head and deciding that maybe a good nights rest would remedy himself of the problem.

* * *

I know it's taking me a while to get actual 9669 action in this fic, but rest assured, I hope to get it started sometime in the next chapter!

Reviews, critiques, all greatly appreciated!


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